Asking for Money: Five Easy Steps for Getting Past Psychological Barriers

A Webinar with Kim Klein

Presented by: Practical Tips and Tools to Help You Raise Money for Your Organization!

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Why Ask?

What is at stake?

Why should we learn to ask for money and insist that our board members and volunteers learn also?

Look at the numbers.

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Why Ask?

Study after study confirms that when people are asked, “Why did you make your last donation?” 80% of them answer,

“Because someone asked me.”

(In fact, only 50% of those who said this can remember the name of the organization they gave to, but almost all of them can remember how they were asked.)

Why Ask?

Because when people who don’t give away money are asked why they don’t, 80% of them will say,

“No one asked me.”

(Sources: United Way, Independent Sector, Center on Philanthropy)

Breaking Down Taboos

Death and Dying

Sex and Sexuality

Money

Politics

Religion

What Did You Learn About Money as a Child?

Most people will say:--Don’t ask for it--Don’t talk about it, except to your family--Don’t ask what someone earns--Money doesn’t buy happiness--Money and friends don’t mix--Money is the root of all evil--What else?

How to Leave This Taboo Behind

Familiarize yourself with each fundraising strategy and know what is going to happen when you use it.

Fundraising Strategies and Results

Personal face to face solicitation: 50%

Personal phone call: 25%

Personal letter, with no follow-up 10%-20%

Phone-a-thon to new prospects: 5%

Phone-a-thon to current donors: 10%

Direct mail to new prospects: .5-1%

Also, of those people who say yes, about 50% will give you less than what you asked for.

Prospect to Donor Ratio

How many prospects will you need to get a donor?

Personal face to face asking: 4 : 1

Personal letter: 10: 1

Phone-a-thon 20: 1

Direct mail: 100: 1

Who is a Prospect?

Ability:

Belief:

Contact:

Five Tips For Successful Asking

1. Success is ASKING

Fundraising is a volume business.

You have to ask 2-3 more people than the number of gifts you need.

Five Tips for Successful Asking, Cont.

2. Be OK with NO

People say no because:

--They don’t have the money

--They have too much else on their minds

--They have given already to someone else

--They have to ask their partner or spouse

NO can take the form of:

“I’ll get back to you.” “I haven’t had time to look at your

information”“Send me something in the mail” “I’ll look at your website and give on-line”“I’m giving to so many other things right

now.” “Yes, I’ll send something” (which never

happens.)

What does NO mean?

For the asker it means:

Thank the person and move on to the next prospect.

Keep in mind that No often means NOT NOW.

Tip: Start your meetings with a “no” report:

“How many people told you NO since the last time we met?”

No is a good thing—it puts you closer to YES

Five Tips for Successful Asking, cont.

3. Believe in your causeWhat you believe in must be bigger

than what you are afraid of. Why are you doing this?

What children, animals, trees will be better off?

What beauty or knowledge will be created?

What profound social problem will be addressed?

Pick an image of your work and lead with that.

Five Tips for Successful Asking, cont.

4. Ask some people. Don’t ask everyone.

In general:

--Don’t ask people who work for you

--Don’t ask people who you know will give only so that they can ask you for their cause

--Don’t ask people who owe you a favor

--Don’t ask people you don’t like

--Don’t ask anyone you really don’t want to.

Five Tips for Successful Asking, cont.

5. Put Yourself in the Donor’s Shoes

How do you feel when someone you know and like and respect asks you for an amount of money you can afford?

How do you feel when you find out you haven’t been included in something that you would have been interested in?

Five Tips

1. Success is asking

2. You have to be OK with NO

3. What you believe in is more important than anything else

4. You don’t have to ask everyone

5. Put yourself in the donor’s shoes

GIVERS GIVE

7 out of 10 adults give away money. They cross all lines: class, race, age, sexual

orientation, ethnicity….Givers are going to give away some money,

and they are more likely to give to causes and people that asked them.

This money will be given away. WILL IT BE GIVEN TO YOUR

ORGANIZATION?

FINALLY…Practice makes perfect

Start asking today.

Start with YOURSELF

Move on to the next easiest person you can imagine

Move on to the next easiest person after that….

Logistics of Asking

Set a goal:

Realistic, time-limited, looking at both your needs and your history of fundraising

Identify Prospects who can be asked in the time-frame you have.

Identify volunteers who will do the asking.

Approaching the Prospect

Send a letter or e-mail

Follow up with a phone call

When appropriate, request a meeting(Asking to meet with a prospect depends on the size of the

gift you are asking, whether you want to do something else for you, whether you are just starting out and want to practice with someone, whether you want to show appreciation for the prospect’s previous support.)

Letter to prospect you know

Dear Martha and Bill, It was great to see you both at the dedication

of the AIDS Memorial Garden. I felt so inspired by all the people who turned out, many of whom have helped make this garden a reality.

The AIDS Memorial Garden is part of our larger program for people living with HIV/AIDS, and it is about that program that I am writing today.

As a member of the board, I have given $250 to the organization, and have committed myself to raise $2,500. I am hoping you can help with a gift in the range of $250 - $500, but certainly do not expect you to make a decision based on this letter alone. I would love a chance to talk more with you about the program and get your feedback on our work as well as more personally invite you to be a part of the work, if you are able.

I will call you in a few days to see when we can have a cup of coffee together.

Best wishes,

Mary

Letter to a donor you don’t know

Dear Ms. Johnson, You have helped us provide services

to low-income families with young children for many, many years. We thank you for that. As you probably know, the families needing our help are increasing almost faster than we can keep up with them.

We would like to ask you to consider increasing your donation to $500 this year to help us keep our class fees low and our meditation retreats open to everyone regardless of income. Because this is a doubling of your previous gift, I would like to talk to you about it, and answer any questions you may have.

The Phone Call

Preparation is KEY

--Message to leave on voicemail

--Ready to answer hard questions

--Dealing with put-offs or vagueness on the part of the prospect

PRACTICE WITH EACH OTHER

The Meeting

Talk WITH the prospects, not AT them.

What to say and ask

Talk about the history of your organization, then ask a question

Talk about your philosophy, then pause and ask for feedback

Talk about your costs and your benefits, then pause and wait for response

The CLOSE

Once you think the prospect has no more questions or comments, OR about 30 minutes into the meeting, move toward the closing the conversation.

“Could you help with $5000?”

“Could you set the pace with $10,000?”

“We especially need gifts in the $1,000 range? Is that possible for you?”

Follow Two Simple Guidelines

1) Act as if everything the person tells you is LITERALLY true.

“I can’t talk right now” means only that.

2) Work with an assumption of YES.

You represent a great organization, and if possible, this prospect will want to talk with you.

MY PLAN

WHO:

WHY WOULD THEY CARE?

WHAT AMOUNT SHOULD I ASK THEM FOR?

WHAT METHOD SHOULD I USE?

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?

WEBINAR CDs NOW AVAILABLE!

Missed the webinar but still need the training?Purchase a CD recording of a past session. These CDs include audio and visual components, capturing the wealth of information Kim has to offer. They're a great training tool at a fraction of the cost! Yours for only $50. Titles currently available:

• Asking for Money • Boards and Fundraising • On Being a Consultant • Getting the Most from Year-End Fundraising• How Small Groups Can Raise BIG Money• Fundraising in Rural Communities• How to Raise $50,000 in 6 Weeks

To purchase call 888-458-8588 or visit:www.grassrootsfundraising.org

Upcoming Webinars:How to Work with Boards (Even though Boards Don’t Work)

April 11, 2008 at 10 AM PT/11 MT/Noon CT/1 ET.

The most common complaint in all nonprofits is "Our board doesn't do fundraising."  Each organization thinks that if they only did something differently, or recruited different people, the board would start doing fundraising.  After 25 years of hearing this complaint over and over, Kim Klein thinks that the way boards are designed and structured is the source of this problem.  However, there are a few ways to get the board on board. In this webinar, Kim will briefly discuss the problems inherent in the structure of boards, then offer several ideas for making your board do more fundraising and be more effective.  These are not "Ten easy solutions." Getting a board on board takes work, but it is worth it.  All are welcome to this webinar, but it is designed particularly for development staff.

For more information and to register, please visit www.grassrootsfundraising.org or call 1-888-458-8588.